Sunday, May 31, 2015

The Great Commission

Jesus Christ is Lord of all. He proved it by very publicly allowing Himself to be annihilated, murdered, "smeared" to dust and rising again. Wow, that's proof enough for me. Following His Resurrection and immediately before ascending bodily back into heaven, he gave His church the Great Commission:

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples; All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you all days even unto the consummation of the world. (emphasis mine)

That isn't a request or a recommendation. That is an order; Go! Do! Teach! Baptize! Bring them all into My church! This makes perfect sense when we understand that there is exactly one way for anyone to get to heaven, Jesus and Jesus founded His church, the present day Catholic Church to funnel all peoples to Him. The Church holds the "keys to the kingdom of heaven" through the authority to bind sins or loose them according to the commandments and teachings of Christ. Understanding this, it is right and just, and a duty, that anyone with knowledge of Christ and His teachings should inform the ignorant, for it is in their best interests; for their eternal salvation.

There is, today, a heresy called Indifferent ism. This heresy maintains that all religions are basically the same and that everyone, by whichever path they choose, will find their way to heaven. There are numerous biblical citations which expose that lie, regardless, today, it is very popular. This is a huge reason so many people are abandoning the Catholic Church. It explains why a country such as Ireland, which has a Catholic history, can today approve, by popular vote, legally sanctioned sodomy. Indifferent ism is so rampant that the majority of Catholics believe it is fine to contracept, co-habitate before marriage, and abort (in certain cases). This same majority disagrees on the primacy of the Catholic Church, her teachings on the Eucharist, confession, the male priesthood, not to mention her condemnation of homo-sexuality.

There is an ominous mood swing which bodes ill for the future of our Church. This hostility is manifesting itself in many ways. St. Louis University, a Catholic university, felt the heat recently. On their campus there has been a statue titled, Where the Rivers Meet. The statue depicts Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, a Jesuit missionary of the nineteenth century doing exactly what Jesus told him to do! Today, however, it came under fire for being an image of "colonialism, imperialism, racism, and...Christian and white supremacy". Well, they got one right - Christian supremacy is exactly what Father De Smet's motivation was. Think of the native American who's heart was turned by Father De Smet, who came to love Jesus, learned how to live and died in God's graces. Can we really expect him to consider Father De Smet to be a grubby imperialist? Rather, I expect that they are the best of brothers in heaven. What worries me is the way our Catholic institutions don't even defend themselves, they just cave. Rather than using the noise as a teaching moment, they let the errors prevail.

Today, they are ripping away the symbols, tomorrow they will rip away the truths. It will take great courage for a true Catholic to stand firm, unlike the administrators of St. Louis University, and stick with Christ, come what may. Looking down the road I see major fault-line on the homo-sexual movement. A realistic scenario has the Supreme Court of the United States declaring that homo-sexuals have a constitutional right to "marry". Very soon after that, the next day probably, they will be asking our priests to perform a sacrament which is impossible. This acid test will expose the priests and bishops who are true and those who are false. The Church will severely fracture. Our lay people will be forced to choose who to follow. Do not be confused. Simply ask yourself, what would Father De Smet do?

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"Woe to them that make wicked laws: and when they write, write injustice: To oppress the poor in judgment, and do violence to the cause of the humble of my people: that widows might be their prey, and that they might rob the fatherless. What will you do in the day of visitation, and of the calamity which cometh from afar? To whom will ye flee for help? And where will ye leave your glory?" Isaias 10:1-3

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"Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and simple as doves." Mt 10:16

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